Introduction
Bike-sharing systems have increasingly been recognized as a key component of sustainable and active urban mobility strategies worldwide. Over the past two decades, such systems have expanded rapidly across diverse urban contexts, contributing to reduced car dependency, improved accessibility, and enhanced environmental and public health outcomes. However, international experiences demonstrate that the successful development of bike-sharing systems depends not only on technological innovation but also on complex interactions among economic, institutional, infrastructural, and socio-cultural factors.
In Iran, and particularly in Tehran, several attempts have been made to establish smart bike-sharing systems. Despite initial enthusiasm and technological readiness, many of these initiatives have either remained limited in scale or have been discontinued. While existing studies in the Iranian context have addressed infrastructural, technical, and policy-related aspects of bike-sharing, a comprehensive qualitative analysis based on the direct perspectives of key actors involved in these initiatives has been lacking. In the absence of such analysis, policy cycles risk repeating previous shortcomings. This study aims to address this gap by providing an in-depth exploration of the structural and contextual challenges facing the development of bike-sharing systems in Tehran.
Theoretical Framework
The study builds upon interdisciplinary perspectives in sustainable urban mobility, institutional governance, and socio-technical systems. Previous domestic research has highlighted the importance of infrastructure quality, safety, integration with public transport, and data-driven planning. Other studies have emphasized managerial coordination, institutional participation, and technological adaptation. However, much of the literature has relied on quantitative modeling or technological evaluation, with limited attention to the lived experiences and strategic assessments of practitioners and decision-makers directly involved in implementation processes.
From a theoretical standpoint, bike-sharing systems can be understood as socio-technical assemblages embedded within broader governance and cultural structures. Their performance is shaped not only by infrastructure and technology but also by institutional stability, financial viability, policy coherence, and public perception. This perspective frames bike-sharing development as a multidimensional and relational process rather than a purely technical intervention. Accordingly, this research adopts an exploratory qualitative approach to identify how various structural and contextual factors intersect in the Tehran case.
Methodology
This research employs a qualitative design aimed at capturing the experiences and interpretations of actors directly involved in bike-sharing development in Tehran. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 11 key participants, including municipal officials, transport managers, corporate investors, company executives, and urban cycling advocates who have played active roles in the planning, operation, or promotion of bike-sharing systems.
Participants were selected through purposeful sampling based on their strategic positions and direct involvement in relevant projects. Rather than relying solely on numerical saturation, the adequacy of data was assessed in terms of “information power” (Malterud et al., 2016), given that interviewees represented key institutional and operational perspectives. The diversity of positions across policymaking, implementation, and civic engagement levels enabled the identification of recurring patterns and convergent themes. Interview transcripts were analyzed through iterative reading and thematic interpretation. Patterns of meaning were identified and organized into primary and secondary themes. The analysis was grounded in participants’ narratives, and repeated returns to the raw data ensured consistency between interpretations and original statements.
Results and Discussion
The findings indicate that the challenges facing bike-sharing development in Tehran can be categorized into four interrelated dimensions: economic and financial, institutional and managerial, socio-cultural, and technical and infrastructural. Economically, high initial capital costs, dependence on currency fluctuations, and the absence of stable municipal financial support create structural fragility in business models. This financial uncertainty constrains scaling and exposes operators to discontinuity risks.
At the institutional and managerial level, weak coordination between public and private actors, the lack of clear contractual frameworks, shifting municipal priorities, and the dominance of car-oriented urban planning approaches significantly undermine long-term stability. The absence of predictable governance arrangements increases operational uncertainty and discourages private-sector engagement.
Socio-cultural challenges include negative perceptions of cycling as a legitimate mode of daily transport, gender-based restrictions, and the lack of sustained cultural and educational policies promoting active mobility. These factors limit consistent demand and restrict the social embedding of bike-sharing as an everyday urban practice. Technically and infrastructurally, discontinuous and unsafe cycling lanes, inadequate station placement, logistical inefficiencies, and unreliable digital infrastructure hinder user experience and increase operational costs. These limitations reveal that technological deployment alone cannot compensate for broader infrastructural deficits.
Importantly, these four dimensions do not operate independently; rather, they form a causal chain in which institutional instability reinforces financial risk, weak infrastructure affects social acceptance, and limited demand further undermines financial sustainability. The Tehran case thus illustrates the systemic interdependence of socio-technical, economic, and governance factors in urban mobility transitions.
Conclusion
The development of bike-sharing systems in Tehran cannot be understood as a purely technical or operational matter. Instead, it represents a multidimensional process embedded within institutional arrangements, economic structures, urban infrastructure, and socio-cultural contexts. The recurrence of limited-scale or discontinued initiatives reflects the absence of an integrated and stable policy framework. Sustainable advancement in this field requires coordinated action across multiple domains: transparent and risk-balanced public–private partnerships, stable contractual and governance frameworks, investment in safe and continuous cycling infrastructure, digital reliability, and coherent cultural policies that enhance the legitimacy and inclusiveness of cycling practices.
Future research may further deepen understanding by conducting comparative analyses with other Iranian or regional cities, examining user perspectives more systematically, and integrating quantitative usage data with qualitative institutional analysis. Such studies can contribute to a more comprehensive assessment of the prospects and constraints of active mobility transitions in complex metropolitan contexts.
Keywords
Bike-sharing systems, urban cycling development, Tehran.